Internet Society: Change Cybersecurity Stance

“Once bitten, twice shy” is the sentiment among many consumers when it comes to companies that were the subject to a data breach. A new report from the Internet Society finds that 59 percent of Internet users said they would not likely do business with a company that fell victim to a data hack.

“One of the key questions raised by this report is, why are organizations doing so little to protect their customers’ data?” said Michael Kende, economist and Internet Society fellow who authored the report, in a press release. “Everyone knows that data security is a major issue for both consumers and businesses, yet companies are not doing everything they could to prevent breaches.”

According to the Internet Society, the average cost of a data breach is now about $4 million, up 29 percent since 2013. What’s more, in 2015 there were a reported 1,673 breaches and 707 million exposed records. With that in mind, the Internet Society said it is urging companies to change their stance on cybersecurity and follow some key recommendations.

Those include putting users at the center of solutions when assessing the cost of data breaches and increasing transparency about the risk, incidence and impact of data breaches globally.

“Sharing information responsibly helps organizations improve data security, helps policymakers improve policies and regulators pursue attackers, and helps the data security industry create better solutions,” it said in the press release.

What’s more, the Internet Society said data security has to be a priority with companies subscribing to best practices when dealing with data security; increased accountability on the part of companies for their breaches; and an increase in incentives to invest in security so there is a market for “trusted, independent assessment of data security measures” that organizations can use to credibly show their level of data security.